Help end energy poverty in Aotearoa

Time to Give a Flick

20% of Kiwis say they've gone without electricity or heating because they can't afford it

More than 25,000 Kiwi kids are hospitalised with respiratory issues each year

Energy poverty is thought to contribute to 1,600 unnecessary deaths in New Zealand each winter

Throught the power of shulbs, we've hit our goal to fit out the homes of vulnerable families with 10,000 energy efficient lightbulbs, and collectively save them more than $1,000,000 on their electricity costs! #FlickYeah

Living in energy poverty

What is energy poverty?

Energy poverty is a complex but critical national issue. It’s about low wages, poor quality housing and the cost of energy. To end energy poverty we need systemic change which means everyone in the system must recognise the issue and think about what they can do to help.

We’ve spent the past three years building a business that, over time, cuts about 20% off a household’s energy bill. Now, we want to make sure that smart technology reaches the people who need it the most.

Meet the McLeod family of Wellington. In winter 2017, they faced massive power bills to keep their home warm. Read their story on living in energy poverty.

"Flick launched its new power service in Nelson by donating 300 energy saving bulbs to the marae. The marae works with many families experiencing hardship and supports them in a number of ways."

Thanks to you, we managed to fit out Kiwi homes with more than 10,000 energy efficient lightbulbs, so we can save them a collective $1m on their electricity costs. But we don't want the conversation to end there

Giving a Flick

Jordan Watson

"Energy Poverty is a real issue that a lot of us hadn't really thought about, but we all need to help with." - Jordan Watson, AKA How to Dad

Jordan's support help us raise awareness about the issue of energy poverty in Aotearoa. Big ups to the power of shulbs!

Lance O'Sullivan

"We should be front footing a lot of these problems that are due to environmental factors. These are resulting in our children becoming sick. And part of that starts with educating and empowering communities and families to understand where they can do things for themselves."

Dr. Lance O'Sullivan is a doctor operating out of Kaitaia, who was named New Zealander of the Year 2014, thanks to his work on rural health projects.

Kiri Waldegrave

"Our assessors go out to homes and see people, and often we're seeing families they are doing a really great job, with the limited resources that they have. But sometimes they have to make a tough choice of heating or eating -and it shouldn't be like this."

Kiri Waldegrave is a Senior Public Health Advisor from Wellington. Kiri works with Well Homes, an initiative that links whānau to appropriate services like insulation, heating, or curtain banks.

Mark Hadlow

"Get behind Flick and help them put an end to energy poverty in New Zealand."

Mark Hadlow is a celebrated actor and comedian, best known for his roles in King Kong and The Hobbit. Hadlow was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit earlier this year, for services to the arts.

Questions? We've got answers

Questions about energy poverty

What is the definition of ‘Energy Poverty’?

The technical definition of a household suffering energy poverty is when they need to spend 10% or more of their income on fuel to keep the house temperature at a healthy level. But it’s generally accepted that a household is energy poor if they need to spend an excessive amount of their income on heating.

The World Health Organisation says that the healthy temperature for a home is 21 degrees in the main living area and 18 degrees in the rest of the house. If people are home all day, heating needs to be available for 16 hours per day; and in households where people are mainly away at study or work during the day, that heating should be available for 9 hours per day.

A University of Otago study found that one in five New Zealanders have experienced fuel poverty.

Their research looked at both the technical definition of Fuel Poverty (above), and asked “Have you ever gone without heating/power because you felt unable to afford it?”.

We see the impact of Fuel Poverty in a range of health and wellbeing statistics too.

According to University of Otago research, energy poverty is thought to be a factor in New Zealand’s high rate of excess winter mortality (an additional 1,600 deaths a year) and excess winter hospitalisations (8% of all hospitalisations).

Over the past year more than 25,000 children were admitted to hospital with respiratory issues. Respiratory disease has a strong correlation with unhealthy homes.

And according to the International Energy Agency, New Zealand has the lowest space heating intensity in the developed world. Most kiwis will be familiar with how badly insulated our houses are!

Households with low incomes are more likely to suffer from energy poverty. But the definition is separate because energy poverty relates specifically to not being able to afford the fuel needed to adequately warm a home.

There are a number of ways that households can reduce their electricity costs so they can better afford the energy they need to be warm.

Energy efficient lightbulbs can slash 80% of a household’s lighting costs - around $400 per year, or 20% of the average household’s total electricity cost!

LED bulbs also have an estimated 10 year life so the savings really add up over time.

But the upfront cost of energy efficient lightbulbs is prohibitive for most families suffering energy poverty. That’s why we started this initiative - to meet those upfront costs so families in need can start enjoying the savings this great technology enables.

How have you calculated the potential savings from changing lightbulbs?

We used the EECA calculator for standard lightbulbs, and replaced it with a comparable LED bulb. According to Consumer NZ, a standard household has an average 30 bulbs - which means that replacing a house fitted with 60w/800 lumen standard bulbs with an LED equivalent makes the savings over $400 a year. Obviously this will vary house to house - some have more bulbs, some have less - but our goal is to fit enough NZ households with enough bulbs so that over 10 years (an average lifespan of an LED bulb) they save collectively $1,000,000.

What else can households do to reduce their energy costs?

Changing power companies is a great place to start. Only 30% of New Zealanders change power companies every few years, but if you shop around you can often get a much better deal than you’re currently on.

Have a read of our blog Top Five Ways To Save On Power, and there are a range of local services that offer home energy audits to help you understand where you can make improvements at home. A few of these are:

As a power company, if you really care, why don’t you just make electricity cheaper?

We have! On average, Flick customers haved saved $495 over two years (December 2018) compared to their old retailer. Our technology doesn’t cost people anything to access, and lets them use power smarter to save money.

Until Flick launched, the only way to save money on your power bill was to use less electricity. This is a terrible message to people who are already going without as a way to try and reduce their power bills.

With Flick, you can use the electricity you need to live well, but pay less for it by using it at cheaper times of day. Our smart tools make this easy.